We, men and women of the Caribbean represented by the Assembly of the Peoples of our region, call on the conscience of all to face the consequences of climate change that threatens and endangers human life in the planet.
The countries of the South and even more the small island states are not responsible of the situation and are the ones who face the worst consequences. Just a few weeks ago some areas of Central America and the United states just suffer a slash of severe weather events that have caused irreparable losses of lives and incalculable damage to the infrastructure and economy of our nations that will affect the health and living conditions of the population, with special emphasis on the most vulnerable sectors.

Taking into account the above, we propose the following:

1. Demand all governments to place the climate agenda as a priority, as this depends on the achievement of any other objective, including the objectives of sustainable development, approved by the General Assembly of the United Nations.
2. To demand that the international community, and especially the most polluting developed nations, to comply with the terms of the Paris Agreement and the goals related to the emission reduction goals and other measures in order to maintain the indexes of the global average temperature below 2 ° C related to the preindustrial levels, and not to abandon the efforts to limit the increase of the temperature to 1,5 ° C.

3. Recognize and support the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities of each country, a principle that backs up the concept of ecological debt on which the poor and underdeveloped countries of the global south are the creditors that presently are in a situation of greater vulnerability.

4. Urge the developed nations to comply with their financing commitments and to assume new and additional ones that will allow them to deal realistically with the current crisis.

5. Demand the international community and the international organizations to guarantee under advantageous and flexible conditions, and, to transfer sustainable energy technologies to developing countries, as well as more effective access to knowledge related to these. The same treatment must be given to technologies that replace highly polluting processes.
6. Require governments to effectively integrate climate change adaptation into national development strategies.

7. Require governments to draw up plans against disasters with the participation of the population and to place the guarantee of human rights and the preservation of life in the first place, foreseeing contingency measures to guarantee electricity services, water, health care, food, communications and materials for basic needs.

8. To denounce the unsustainable consumption patterns on which the developed capitalist countries operate and which are exported to the underdeveloped countries, penetrating their cultures and aggravating their situation.

9. Reject the withdrawal of the USA, one of the most polluting countries in the world from the Paris Agreement. Refute the denial of his current administration, which has given an open letter to polluting projects that expose its population and the rest of the world into greatest dangers. Reject the abandonment of Puerto Rico, a colonial enclave in our area left to its fate after the passage of Hurricane Maria.

10. We are in solidarity with all the island states that have the key to their survival in the fulfillment of these proposals.

Let’s Defend our right to peace and life.

ASSEMBLY OF THE PEOPLES OF THE CARIBBEAN